Login Screen no input

cavaughankirov

So whenever the computer has implemented the screen lock after a period of non-use, I am unable to enter anything into the login screen. I have to choose Switch User, log in there, then the login screen will pop up again and I have to enter my password without doing anything else. If I were to click on the screen anywhere outside the password entry, it will again not allow any input. So I have to repeat switching user.

brent

cavaughankirov log in to your 'switch user' account---you made it sound like you had one. then nuke your user account and create a new one.
unless you are saying you can't load the operating system at all and are stuck in a login loop?

cavaughankirov

Ok, explain again. I leave a session and eventually the screen will lock. So I have to log in again to return to the session. But I can't enter anything into the password field. It won't allow any input. So I have to click on the Switch User option and then I can log in, but the previous lock-screen login screen appears and then I have to log in again.

Now if when the previous lock-screen login screen comes up, if I were push the mouse button anywhere out side the password field, it locks up again and I have to go to Switch User again, etc.

brent

your screen paralyze (whatever its called) prompts you to user login to enter the os. You log in as yourself, name and password or just password. Or you would but it's greyed out...
...so you have to select Switch User. Switch user is not greyed out: it accepts/name and password. It takes you credentials then does absolutely nothing. we are still in slick-greeter with a ghost login..

that's a weird loop man. your main login got fubar'd somehow. The system doesn't acknowledge it (grays it out like a permissions thing). And you probably don't have a real second account or you'd be logged in with switch user.
If you get slick greeter then you can also get a CLI login (ctrl + alt + F2 or 1 or try them all). that should bring up a terminal login.
see what happens, see if you can log in that way. if you can I would update system first then second, check for broken packages.

brent

brent also thinking if you cannot login tty (terminal) then imho you have to pave and reinstall. there might be some resetting keyring permission/rebuild terminal commands but that is way over my head.
also info that might help:
did this happen out of the blue? or after an update? what DE? its strange to be locked out of your own operating system unless something dramatic happened that went under the radar